Ripped, Torn, Shredded
by bleach.and.ink
Summary: Another one i found buried, Buffy is raped and can't figure out who or why, so she calls on her old lover to help. B/A pairing. Written early oughts.
1. Chp 1

Ripped, Torn, and Shredded

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of it, never will.

He slid another coke down to the blonde. He just wanted to touch her. Waiting was all he could do. She smiled at him and drank the soda.

"Thanks." she mouthed. The music was blasting to loud to even bother to yell. She finished it and wandered onto the dance floor. She couldn't find anyone and decided to go back and talk to the guy who had passed her the drink.

"Hi," she greeted him.

"Hey." he just stared at her.

"You work here?" She started to loose her balance and sat on one of the stools.

"Yeah, I got hired yesterday." She looked at him her vision became blurry and she was feeling woozy.

"Can you take me outside?" She said tipping over on the stool.

"Let's take you in the back, you can lay down and we can get someone to take you home." He suggested.

"Fine." she said and slumped in his arms. He carried her limp body and set it down on one of the beds in a dark room. He just stared at her. He smacked her face and when she didn't wake up he set off to fulfill his pleasures. First he stripped off her clothes and then he did the same with his. It wasn't as fun as it would have been if she was awake but it would have to do. He wanted her to scream when he climaxed but it was better if she was quiet. He laid down on her. He felt her body all over and put himself inside of her. 'This is the best yet. Only my second time and I'm having it all and not getting caught.' he thought. As soon as he started he had finished. He picked her up and carried her off into the night.

She awoke to find herself stuffed into the bushes behind the Bronze. Her clothes were scattered throughout the bushes and she was lying nude on the ground. She sat up, gathered her clothes, threw them on and ran home as fast as she could. 

"You scored again Robert. Two for you." James said. 

"Yeah, a buff blonde and a skanky purple haired girl. Two in two days. I'm on a roll." Robert said back.

"Do you even know their names?" James joked.

"No. I did it and ran. I'm not one to be caught. The blonde was hard to go down though. Really strong. I bedded a slayer!" Robert joked.

"Just as long as the p.d. doesn't find out about it." James grabbed a beer.

"They probably don't care." Robert chuckled and took a swig of his.

"Well, my turn tomorrow night. I'm gonna score big." James made a toast.

She found a bench in the nearby park. It wasn't the safest place but that didn't matter, no where was safe anymore. She couldn't trust even those who seemed nice enough. She cried and muffled her cries with the sleeve of her jacket. 'Why me? How?' she thought. It wasn't fair. How could he have done it? She was the strongest. The chosen one, the slayer. Her drink had been spiked. That must have been it. But the bar tender had seemed so nice. 'Why?' She cried herself to sleep.


	2. Chp 2

"Hello?" Willow knocked on the door. She turned the knob and looked around. Buffy was no where to be found. Since last night no one, absolutely no one had heard from her. This was unlike Buffy. Sort of. Usually she would call or leave some kind of clue. This time she didn't even take clothes or slaying tools. 'Weird' Willow thought. She picked up the phone and dialed Giles.

"Hello?" Giles answered.

"Hi. It's Willow, is Buffy around?" Willow said calmly.

"Umm. No. Isn't she at the dorm?" he sounded concerned.

"I'm here and she isn't. No need to worry though. I think I know where she is." Willow made up a lie to calm down Giles. Getting him worked up about a little miscommunication wasn't good.

"Oh. Well if she doesn't show let me know Willow. All right?" He was puzzled at Willow's call. Buffy had just turned 21 and was usually out checking the club scene for any new vampires. She checked in with someone, most of the time.

"I will. Talk to you later." Willow hung up the phone and flopped onto Buffy's bed. 'Call, Buffy, just tell us your around.' Willow dozed off.'

"Hello. Angel and Company, we help the helpless. Can we help you?" Cordelia's voice hadn't changed. It was a new company; more money and she sounded, well, perky.

"Put Angel on the phone." Buffy sobbed through the phone line.

"Buffy?!? Oh my god!!! What's new in your life? We haven't talked in, like, forever!" Cordelia actually sounded happy to hear Buffy.

"Put Angel on. Please Cordy." Buffy's voice trembled. Angel had told her to call if she had ever needed anything. Right now she did, she didn't need Cordelia.

"Hold on a minute... ANGEL PHONE!" Cordelia screamed.

"Hello, Angel speaking. Can I help you?" Buffy forced a small smile at the sound of his voice. It was comforting.

"Angel?" Buffy managed to stop sobbing and squeaked.

"Buffy? What's wrong? Where are you?" The concern in his voice warmed the pay phone receiver.

"I-I need...need to talk to you. Can you come get m-me? Please?" she couldn't hold it in anymore. She cried into the receiver.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Where are you?" He was putting his coat on and grabbing his keys.

"The p-p-park. Please hurry."

"Please insert 25 more cents to continue your call." The phone interrupted. Buffy reached into her pocket and pulled out a quarter. Her hand shook as she put it into the slot.

"Angel."

"Yes."

"I need you I need you to help me."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Talk to you then."

"Bye." Buffy kissed the receiver and put it back onto the holder. It would take Angel at least an hour to get to where she was. Alot had happened since she was 18. Angel and his crew was getting homesick and moved so that they were one hour outside of Sunnydale. The new high school had been built and Willow had finally gotten to the point where her magic was helpful. But she didn't care what had happened to them, Buffy just wanted to know what happened to her. She wandered through the empty paths leading through the park and found a bench. She sat down and just stared as some birds flew by. They were so simple, it didn't make sense. She couldn't remember anything but drinking a few harmless cokes and falling off the bench in the Bronze. How did she get outside feeling like she'd been abused and having bruises all over her body. She shivered just thinking about it. Buffy yawned and lay down on the bench. She drifted off into a deep peaceful slumber.


	3. Chp 3

"Buffy? Wake up Buffy." Angel was tapping her shoulder. It was dark out now. She must have slept for over 5 hours.

"Angel?" She rubbed her eyes and looked up at him in the light. The park light just hit him perfectly and made him look as beautiful as he had ever been.

"Are you all right? No offense but you look like crap." He brushed a few scattered strands of hair back off her face.

"No, I mean, I don't know. I'm confused. I want to get out of here!" She screamed into the dead air.

"Here. Let's go somewhere quiet. Maybe get you changed and washed up. What in the world-" He stopped to look over the bruise on her neck. He studied her closely. More bruises covered her body. Her short black skirt didn't hide the one's on her legs. "What happened to you?" He stared at her in amazement that she wasn't healed.

"That's what I don't know. Please, let's get out of here. Please. I can't stand it." She started to cry as she reached the car. It had been a long time since she'd seen it and the pending situation didn't help much either. She watched as Angel pulled out of the parking space and headed down the street towards his in town abode.

"Do you mind? You don't look like you want to go back to the dorm. Unless you want to go home?"

"No. This is fine. As long as no one else is there. I'm just so scared." She wiped her eyes with a tissue. Her mascara had already dripped down her face and she attempted to scrub it off. "Damn fake waterproof." She giggled at that which was bother her. He had already seen her so what was she trying to hide.

"At least you're in a better mood than when we talked on the phone." He unlocked the door and turned on the dim lights in the house. "What do you want to talk to me about? I'm here for you." He held her in a bear hug. Her hair smelled of the dumpster and her clothes were filthy.

"Do you by any chance have some clothes I can borrow. I need to get out of these." She looked up at him through her tear stained eyes. He wandered over to a chest and opened one of the drawers. 

"Here. You can use the bathroom if you like. There is a towel in there already." He gently threw her some pants and a t-shirt. She stumbled over to the bathroom door and shut it. He could hear her crying in the bathroom while the shower was running.

"How are you doing?" Angel pulled Buffy up into a giant hug. Her hair was wrapped turban style in a towel. His clothes hung loosely off her small frame, but she was still sobbing.

"Confused. What else is there to say?" She sobbed into his chest. It was comforting to know she could count on one she loved.

"Tell me what happened. All that you remember. We can try and figure this out." He led her over to a large couch and sat her down. She wiped her eyes onto the shirt she was wearing and started.

"All I remember, is, is, I was at the Bronze, by myself. Drinking." She stumbled to find words. "Drinking coke. The bartender kept smiling at me and passing them down to me. There wasn't any alcohol in them. As far as I remember. And, and then..." She racked her brain looking for clues to what happened next.

"And then, what happened?" Angel's eyes pleaded with her. He looked torn that his love was hurt and he could do nothing.

"My stool fell out from under me, the bartender helped me up, and then I, I woke up outside behind the Bronze next to the dumpster. My clothes were scattered about and, it was cold." She shivered. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before and her thoughts were scattered throughout. She whimpered and grabbed the pillow on which she was resting. She cuddled it and watched as Angel silently repeated to himself what happened.

"Do you not remember anything else?" He had an idea of what had happened but wanted to be absolutely sure.

"Other, than a bruise, no." She rubbed the spot where there had been a purple mark earlier, it had disappeared. Angel reached his hand to rub the spot and feel for anything and moved her blonde hair back over her shoulder, on her neck were two fading pinpricks.

"Shit." He cursed aloud.

"What? What's wrong?" She watched his face change. He was definitely angered at something unknown to her.

"You were bit. Whoever did this to you is going to tell me what happened and isn't going to have a good night." He got up and stormed around the apartment. It was still light out and he would have to wait to find the one who marked Buffy.

"Holy cow. But, I'm not a vampire, what the hell happened to me!?! I want answers, I need answers!" She ran into Angel's arms.

"I may have an answer, but not a good one, nothing that you've dealt with before." His tone scared her. His face was back to normal and he held her close. She felt as though nothing could happen as long as he protected her.

"Don't hold the truth, it's inevitable." She waited patiently.

"You were raped by a vampire." Her body stiffened up at his words. She cried into his chest attempting to hold back the tears.

"No! No! I just passed out, and the bouncer's just dumped me in the back. And that was after I had put on a strip show. I...I got into a cat fight, my clothes ripped off and we got into the back of the Bronze, that's your mark, yeah, that's it, it's your mark." She trembled trying to force herself to come up with different options.

"Put, the facts together. You're not stupid." He gave her a small kiss on the top of the head. He grabbed her some Kleenex. She took them and ran into the bathroom. This was worse than loosing her mother, almost. Buffy leaned over the toilet bowl and spilled whatever she had had that last evening.


	4. Chp 4

"That wasn't normal." Angel stepped into the bathroom. "Vampires don't just bite a slayer just to bite. Whatever did this to you, must have done something else." He grabbed a cup, filled it with water and handed it to her.

"I wasn't raped." She graciously took the cup and chugged down the refreshing water. "At least, I don't think I was. Otherwise, nevermind. I don't know what to believe now. I can't trust anyone." She shrank into the corner of the bathroom between the tub and the wall. "I'm so scared." She whispered.

"You can trust me. I wouldn't do anything to harm you. You know that for a fact." He smiled at her and helped her up.

"But, but, I just need to get away. I want to get out of here. Away from my life, away from Sunnydale. I want to run away. As far as I can get." She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was flat and her eyes were red and puffy. Tears streamed down her face and the clothes that she wore were way to big. She was different, but only because her life had decided to come crashing down on her. Buffy craved to change identities, but not like she had been Anne, like she was someone totally new, unknowing and uncaring of the demons that walked amongst her.

"The last time you ran away you came back. There's no denying that you can't leave. You are who you are." Angel saw that his words stung but she knew they were true. He couldn't stop being Angel but he had learned to live with that. 

"I still, I can't believe it. Why couldn't it have been a demon, not something that I can't deal with?" She wandered out of the bathroom. The room was warm with a fake feeling of security. She knew there was no one to trust or believe. She couldn't believe the people she'd grown up with. The tenders at the Bronze were almost her family. They let her do whatever she wanted. There was one person who she could really trust but he couldn't be around her all the time. She wanted total human contact and he couldn't provide that for her when she ran around town. She wanted to die. More than anything just to crumple up into a ball and have her heart stop beating. He wasn't going to let that happen to her. He cared too much for her. He always did.

"Buffy, I love you more than anything in the world. No one would hand you more than you could handle. I swear to you, I will take care of whoever did this to you." He held her hand tightly and smelled her hair. She had washed it so whoever's scent was in it was gone. She smelled like him now and he loved it.

"Damn it then. Find out who did this to me and why. I can't stand it. I have to go and figure out if the damned demon got me pregnant!" Buffy screamed into the silent room. Angel laughed and she gave him a quizzical look. "Oh, yeah, nevermind." She noticed her mistake and laughed. It felt good to laugh considering she hadn't done it for almost a day


	5. Chp 5

"I...I don't want to go there again. Please don't make me do this Angel. I'm not ready. Please!" Buffy tugged on Angel's long black leather coat. They were waiting in line to get into the Bronze. Angel had told Buffy to figure out which bartender it was who 'helped' her and he'd take care of the rest. She didn't want to deal with that right now. She wanted to be lying on his bed cuddle in his arms more than anything. Since they had been together that last evening, feelings of passion and desire had come upon her like a raging storm on a summer's day.

"Buffy, you have too. You can't wait forever. People change." He pulled her up the line with him.

"Vampires don't." she quipped. She knew he knew that but he was afraid she'd forget what he looked like. She knew she'd never forget the face of the demon. Never.

"Now, to the bar." Angel led her over to the counter and ordered two waters. The bartender shakily slid the glasses down, constantly looking at Angel. "That him?" he casually pointed to the bartender.

"No. I don't want to do this." Buffy started to get up and froze in her tracks. Willow lay slumped on a barstool being helped up by a bartender. Buffy ran over to the man. It wasn't the one who had destroyed her inner self but someone different. She didn't trust him at all. "I've got her. Will. Will." Buffy leaned the redhead's weight onto her shoulder and brought her over to where Angel was sitting.

"Was that him?" Angel mouthed attempting to wake up his passed out friend.

"No. Holy shit! There he is, oh my god. He's here, he's here. Help me get out of here. Get me away." Buffy started running towards the exit. She noticed the still passed out Willow propped up under the counter. Angel stormed towards a bartender quietly asking to talk to him. Buffy watched as the bartender led Angel into a back room oblivious of Angel's power. She grabbed her friend and jogged towards the crowded exit. Willow was half awake and groggily asking where she was.

"Buffy? Buffy?" Willow slurred her words. "Where the hell am I?" Buffy helped her friend out onto the street.

"I'm here. You're ok. I don't think Angel is." Buffy could hear screaming and shouting coming from within the Bronze. More than usual at least. Willow leaned over and threw up on the road. She looked awful. 

"The nice, bartender was going to help me out. But, I didn't trust him one bit." Willow smiled lazily and studied Buffy's face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm scared." Buffy watched the crowd of people move out of the way of the entrance. Angel came out fighting off the enraged vampire. Both were in full fighting faces ready to attack. Blood was dripping down the vampire's forehead and his arm hung at a weird angle. Angel's shirt was ripped open at the arm and blood was gushing from a wound. They seemed like to male lions fighting for a mate.

"You screwed my friend. That wasn't very nice." Angel yelled.

"Well fuck you. I damn got her, I bet she hasn't given you shit!" And with that Angel sent the vamp flying to the ground.

"You have no right to speak like that to your elder. You think your so damn smart than why don't you go and kill me. Huh? You wouldn't dare. You don't even know who I was or can become." Angel snarled at the battered vamp lying on the pavement.

"You think you're all big and bad. Fine. I can be so much more than you ever would be. You're such a fool, for being such an ass to me. My boys will knock you off like nothing you ever seen before." The vamp whistled. The rest of the bartenders encircled Angel all wearing game faces. One by one they lunged at him punching and kicking. Each one was sent sprawling on the ground. Unknown to Angel the head bartender picked up a small wooden chair leg and threw it at him. Buffy watched as her love hit the ground with great force. He screamed and was silent.

"You bastard. Get the hell away from here now or I'll have to whip your little ass. You're not so tough when your boys aren't around. How about a little one on one?" Buffy ran over to face the vamp. Angel wasn't dead but if the stake was moved he certainly would be.

"Oh, my little victim. Why the hell didn't you die? Holy shit. You're the slayer? Ha, well, I bagged a slayer. To bad I didn't kill you. Should have." The vampire stepped up to challenge Buffy. She threw a punch, which knocked him into the wall of the Bronze. Buffy hurled a stake at him. It pinned his arm against the wall. He ripped it off and ran at her full force. She slid back onto the ground. She jumped up as the vamp charged at her again. This move sent her flying back into a dumpster knocking her out. "Oh damn. Slayer dusted. Sad news for Sunnydale." The vamp raised his hand and was knocked over by an invisible force. Willow sat chanting a spell. She tossed a stake over to Angel who was attempting to remove the one from his back. He stumbled a few steps and slowly spoke to his opponent.

"Before you die. Just remember to tell them in hell. Angelus was the one that killed you, but he's not in control. Angel is." Angel put all his effort into driving the stake into the vampire's body. He exploded into dust leaving his arm against the Bronze wall as Buffy's only reminder.

"Angel...Angel" Buffy ran over to his side. He lay clutching his chest not moving. "What's wrong?" She scanned his body holding back her tears.

"Pull, pull, the stake, out, of, of my back. Now, do it." He stumbled along with his words. Buffy almost thought that he was gasping for breath but there wasn't any possible way for that to happen. She yanked the stake out of his back and watched him cringe at the splintered wood being removed from his back. "Get me back to the apartment. Please. I swear there is still wood in my back." Buffy hoisted him up onto one shoulder glancing back at Willow who was standing up and heading in her direction.

"Will, come help me." Willow wandered over and put some of Angel's eight on her shoulder aiding Buffy. They got over to the car and dumped Angel in the back seat.

"Thanks. I owe you one. Where too?" Willow sighed as she got into the passenger's seat.

"His apartment." Buffy put the key into the ignition and sped off down the road. Angel lay in the back of his car cringing in pain.


	6. Chp 6

"Where'd you go?" Willow ignored him.

"Nowhere." Buffy shifted the car into gear.

"C'mon. You disappeared and left no info for two days. What happened? A little something between you and..." Willow nodded towards Angel.

"No way! No, I just got away for two days. And it did me good." Buffy smiled.

"You're lying."

"No. I'm not."

"You're not telling me something."

"No. I'm telling you all."

"Fine, don't tell me. Just keep poor little me hurt." Willow stared out the car window into the night, hurt.

"When I've figured it out you'll be the first to know." Buffy sped up the car and rounded a corner. Angel moaned. She pulled into a parking space outside of the apartment building. She and Willow got Angel out of the car and up the stairs. They slowly settled him onto the bed. Buffy pulled off his shirt. Willow got water and a washcloth to help nurse the open wound on his arm. He flinched as she applied the wound. She had never seen him in so much pain. Willow finally washed it out and wrapped his arm. Buffy helped him over onto his stomach to assess his back. The wound was a bloodied mess of wood and flesh. Buffy reached to touch it and Angel screamed.

"Just kill me." He squeezed the headboard.

"No. I did once, I won't do it again." Buffy watched him in pain.

"Buffy, if not I'll be stuck here for the rest of my days. Just do it."

"Angel you're insane." Willow burst out.

"There's a stake in that drawer. Do it quick. It won't be painful." He pointed to a drawer. "Don't make me do it myself."

"No! No! No! You aren't going to die. I won't let you." Buffy cried into the bed sheets. She knew it was what he wanted but she couldn't do it. He had brought her through this and she brought him back. She had lost him once but he had returned, this time, she knew he wouldn't come back.

"Buffy don't do it. I'll call Giles, he'll help." Willow picked up the phone.

"Put it down. Leave us alone please." Angel growled at her.

"I'll be outside. Buffy don't do it. Just don't." Willow let herself out. She paced the hallway thinking. If Buffy did this she wouldn't be able to live with her memories, if she didn't Angel would do it and she would never forgive herself. It was a no win situation.

"Angel, I...I can't. I...I won't." She sat on the bed clutching his hand.

"Buffy. I'll be an invalid lying here being nothing but a burden to you. If you don't I will." He had always been a burden but nothing ever like this.

"You haven't done anything to make me want to kill you. I- I love you too much. I won't loose you again! You'll have to kill me first." She grabbed the stake and anything that he could use and threw them out the window.

"Buffy. This is what I want. I can't do anything to help you. Buffy, I don't want to leave you. I love you but this is what will bring my end. I swear to you, I will always be there if you need me. Just do it." He tossed her a stake he had been laying on. She looked longingly at him. She ran over to his bedside and cried.

"Angel. I can't. I don't want too. You can't make me." Buffy grabbed the phone and dialed Giles.

"Put it down." Angel growled.

"Hi Giles. Its Buffy."

"Buffy? You're alive?"

"Yes. But Angel is almost not."

"What do you mean by almost not?"

"He was attacked, and wants me to kill him. He saved my life."

"Buffy. Put him on."

"Giles? Angel here. Tell her to do it."

"I'm afraid I can't. She still has her own will."

"Damn it Giles. She'll listen to you."

"Yes well. She doesn't want to loose you. She is in love."

"And...?"

"Angel wake up. The girl can't loose her best friend."

"Tell her to do it. If she doesn't I'm going to be a charity case."

"Oh."

"Well..."

"I can't. She doesn't want to."

"I don't care. I can't stand to be here like this. At least in hell my life will be decently short."

"Angel."

"What?"

"You may have to do it yourself."

"She has all the wood and weapons."

"Sorry. I can't help."

"Damn, get your bloody English ass over here."

"Angel, I'm in the middle of a graveyard full of vampires. Sorry, I'm a little tied up."

"Just tell her."

"Fine, but it won't change her opinions."

"Giles?"

"Buffy, Ahh. Angel has told me."

"And?"

"Suit his wishes. I must be gone." The phone went dead and Buffy broke down. Everyone was all for it except for the two of them, she and Willow.

"Why? Why?" She screamed into the pillow. Without a conscious effort she accidentally drove the stake through Angel's back. It went easily through. "NO!" She screamed as he exploded into dust. The dust lay there on the sheets where the powerful Angel had once lain. Willow had rushed in when she heard the scream but it was already done. Buffy lay on the ground clutching a sheet. "I can't believe it. I- I didn't do it. I swear, he's still here. He has to be. I didn't do it. He's still alive." She repeated over to herself. Willow stroked her head and surveyed the room. He was gone. Buffy's protector had vanished into the night without warning, without purpose, on accident. It had happened. Just like Joyce's death. So sudden. It was unreal.


	7. Death Is Only A Word

"Buffy, get up and out of bed. The funeral is in two hours." Willow rushed around the room.

"What's the rush. Why do we have to bury him anyways? I want to keep the ashes." Buffy lay under the covers hiding.

"Giles already said you could keep them. He just needs a proper funeral, considering he never got one, I think it's right. Get up or I'll poor water on your bed so you won't be able to sleep." Willow was already dressed in a long black dress and she was scurrying to make her bed.

"I don't want to go. I want to stay here."

"You're going. Angel would have wanted you to get up and out. Not lie around on your lazy butt." Willow smacked Buffy with her pillow.

"Leave me alone. I don't want to go."

"You're going and I'll get Giles over here to dress you." Willow walked out the door in a huff. Buffy really didn't want to upset her considering all that Willow had done. She and Giles had made the funeral arrangements and invitations. But Buffy wanted him back. And putting him to rest, finally, she didn't want to see. The phone rang.

"What?"

"Buffy, get up out of bed or I'll get you a psychiatrist. Now!" Giles screamed through the phone. "I don't want to do this anymore than you do but live with it and move on." He hung up the phone.

"Now, what? A shrink. I'm not crazy!" Buffy hopped up out of bed and turned on the shower. She figured she had enough hot water to last for about 7 minutes so she hurried. It brought back memories of a night. It seemed like a nightmare that she was living and it was getting worse. Memories came back to haunt her and Angel had taken her secret to the grave. Literally.

"So, how do I look?" Buffy spun around. Her long black dress from her mother's funeral still fit. She had lost two people that she loved in less than a month. What was fate to throw her next? She didn't care. Giles had sounded serious enough about a shrink and Buffy wanted no help from one.

"Great. There's the car. Let's go." Willow hurled on a black hat and watched Buffy wrap her shawl around her arms. They walked outside and met up with Xander.

"So, how are you doing?" He asked at a loss for words.

"Just don't leave me like they did." Buffy stepped into the car.

"Wouldn't want to. Don't worry, I doubt we will." He smiled trying to lighten the mood. It wasn't helping. The three of them sat in silence as they drove to the cemetery. There was a thin crowd of guests, all in black, waiting for the three of them. Giles made his way down to the car and helped them all out.

"It's nice to see you can still walk." He remarked to Buffy.

"I don't want to be here. I want to get this over with. Let's do this and then give me the ashes." She solemnly quipped as she made her way through the gravestones. 

"None of us want to do this." Willow whispered.


	8. Angels and Devils

The ceremony went on for about an hour. Buffy waited until everyone else had gone to say her good-byes.

"Angel, why? That's all I have to ask. Why did I fall in love with you? Why did this happen to me? Why am I taking this? I want to end it, but that wouldn't do me or the world any good. I just, can't go on. I'm stuck here. There will never be another you. Never. I will never meet someone like you, ever again. I love you so much and I-I don't want to ever loose your memory. Wherever you are. Stay with me, protect me. Please." She bent down and kissed the stone. It was cool to the touch. Just like him, she thought. She took the canister of ashes and looked at it. Giles and Willow had picked out one with pictures of angel's fighting devils. The good prevailed, she knew, but evil was always there. Angel had physically died. Angelus was not a threat. But the angel, who she had known, would always be there.

FIN


End file.
